ABSTRACT
AIM: To investigate prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, and the relation of the infection to hepatobiliary diseases in 26 hospitals in Korea. METHODS: Consecutive patients who had been admitted to the Division of Gastroenterology with gastrointestinal symptoms were enrolled from March to April 2005. Of those who had been diagnosed with clonorchiasis, epidemiology and correlation between infection and hepatobiliary diseases were surveyed by questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 3080 patients with gastrointestinal diseases, 396 (12.9%) had clonorchiasis and 1140 patients (37.2%) had a history of eating raw freshwater fish. Of those with a history of raw freshwater fish ingestion, 238 (20.9%) patients had clonorchiasis. Cholangiocarcinoma was more prevalent in C. sinensis-infected patients than non-infected patients [34/396 (8.6%) vs 145/2684 (5.4%), P = 0.015]. Cholangiocarcinoma and clonorchiasis showed statistically significant positive cross-relation (P = 0.008). Choledocholithiasis, cholecystolithiasis, cholangitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and biliary pancreatitis did not correlate with clonorchiasis. CONCLUSION: Infection rate of clonorchiasis was still high in patients with gastrointestinal diseases in Korea, and has not decreased very much during the last two decades. Cholangiocarcinoma was related to clonorchiasis, which suggested an etiological role for the parasite.
Subject(s)
Clonorchiasis/complications , Clonorchiasis/epidemiology , Gastrointestinal Diseases/complications , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Animals , Clonorchiasis/diagnosis , Clonorchis sinensis/pathogenicity , Female , Fishes/parasitology , Food Parasitology , Humans , Korea/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Shellfish/parasitology , Young AdultABSTRACT
There are diverse ring-like narrowings in the lower esophagus: mucosal ring, muscular ring, ring-like annular peptic stricture. Esophageal muscular ring is extremely rare and generally asymptomatic. It occurs at the proximal border of the esophageal vestibule that corresponds to the upper end of the lower esophageal sphincter. We experienced a case of lower esophageal muscular ring with a symptom of intermittent mild dysphagia for 40 years and report the findings with a review of the literature.
Subject(s)
Deglutition Disorders/etiology , Esophageal Stenosis/diagnosis , Esophagogastric Junction , Aged , Esophageal Stenosis/complications , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
The majority of patients with scleroderma have gastrointestinal involvement, and a few experience gastrointestinal hemorrhage, however, gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to Mallory-Weiss syndrome is very rare. We report upon a 24-year-old pregnant woman with scleroderma who had gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to Mallory-Weiss syndrome.
Subject(s)
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/etiology , Mallory-Weiss Syndrome/diagnosis , Mallory-Weiss Syndrome/etiology , Pregnancy Complications/diagnosis , Scleroderma, Systemic/complications , Adult , Female , Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/diagnosis , Humans , PregnancyABSTRACT
Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare multisystem disorder. Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with erythroid hypoplasia/aplasia is a rare form of myelodysplasia. Several cases of RP associated with MDS have recently been described. However, RP associated with MDS with erythroid hypoplasia/aplasia has never been reported. There was only one case report of polymyalgia rheumatica associated with MDS with erythroid hypoplasia/aplasia. In this study, we report a 79-year-old patient with RP, who developed MDS subtype refractory anemia (RA) with erythroid hypoplasia/aplasia, a very characteristic subtype of MDS.